Dual branding seems a natural for two health-conscious chains. Planet Smoothie, an Atlanta-based franchise system with 100-plus units in 18 states. More than half of its stores are in Florida and Georgia.“The consumer profiles of Tasti D-Lite and Planet Smoothie are very similar, so combining the two complementary brands will provide both brands an opportunity…

Busy times at

Blended revenues for seven large publicly traded equipment and supplies companies rose again in the third quarter, the sixth consecutive quarter of gains versus the year prior. Reported combined revenues for the group, less the effects of major acquisitions primarily by Middleby Corp., were up 7.5%. This was slightly slower than the 8.5% gain in…

October wasn’t a great month for restaurant operators surveyed by the National Restaurant Association, but in spite of soft sales and traffic, they are feeling a bit better about the future. As a result, the group’s Restaurant Performance Index was off a statistically insignificant 0.1 point and stands at 100, exactly the index point between…

The national news and business media worked hard parsing last week’s report on employment from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The reasons were simple, if the details weren’t: The unemployment rate surprisingly dropped from 9% to 8.6%, yet it was another ho-hum month of jobs growth with only 120,000 net new nonfarm payroll jobs created.…

Both the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index and The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index improved last month, finally getting back to last summer’s levels, which are still nothing to get excited about. But they have clawed their way back following the debacle of the debt-ceiling disaster in August. The University of Michigan Sentiment…

Bricks and mortar, stainless and aluminum all wear out and break down. The foodservice industry has benefited recently from some critical tax benefits on construction and improvements, but without Congressional action, those benefits run out in a few weeks. Current federal tax law allows operators to write off the cost of restaurant construction and restaurant-building…

Where there’s a plastic toy desired by small children, there’s a way. As Dec. 1 dawned and San Francisco’s ban on restaurants (i.e. fast-food chains) providing toys in children’s meals took effect, the chain targeted by the city council—McDonald’s—was joined by its top burger competitive, Burger King, in circumventing the ban. Both chains announced they…

The market for automated ordering systems might get a boost in eight states facing big minimum-wage increases on New Year’s Day. Nationally, the minimum wage stands at $7.25 an hour; it varies from state to state, with minor increases absorbed over the years. But come Jan. 1, employers in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Montana, Ohio, Oregon,…